


Whumptober 1

by Waywocket



Category: Autodale (Web Series)
Genre: Body Horror, Choking, Mentions of mutilation, Wires, bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26734786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywocket/pseuds/Waywocket
Summary: Our Friendly Shadow disobeys for the first time.
Kudos: 16
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Whumptober 1

Everything was dark. Shadow couldn’t move as much as a screw so tightly wrapped in Hive’s wires. It reminded him of being a part of them. Well, completely. He could never be rid of Hive entirely, they were still very much a part of him. In his head.

Suddenly some of the wires let go, and he was falling. Panic gripped his chest as a wire wrapped around his neck. He didn’t think it would be strong enough, but he feared all the same as the floor rushed up beneath him.

A loud thud as the metal of his body hit the ground, many of the wires slack around him. Not all of them, of course. His hands were still held tightly and pulled away from him to keep him still. Obedient.

“Shadow, you’ve done a very poor job,” gently scolded the oldest of the faces, their heart still beating rhythmically in the open air.

He ground his teeth at that. “But-”

“Quiet! You don’t get to speak here,” growled another. They seemed to glare, even though none of their faces moved.

Instinctively, he shrunk back or at least tried to. The wires wouldn’t allow for it. Instead, he glared right back at that part of Hive. He had been given a body to protect the people of Autodale, not kill them for wanting to live!

“Well, he was doing his job,” the first reasoned. He had held back the Handymen to let the rioters escape. No humans had died, yet.

“He let them get away,” the other barked back. Shadow was sure they would tremble with rage, if they were able.

“Perhaps a bit of rewiring?” The first suggested trying to find the middle ground. “They were citizens, after all. Just not model citizens.”

While they bickered, he gently tried to get his arms free from all the wires. There was nowhere to run. Shadow couldn’t hide from them. He just wanted to feel as if he was more than just a piece of a machine, a gear in their machine. They noticed.

Suddenly, he was pulled up just far enough his feet couldn’t touch the ground. The wire was wrapped tightly around his neck now. He could feel it as it pressed the wires on his face. At least, his windpipe was covered in thick metal. He could still breathe, for now.

“He needs to be more obedient.”

Next was the cackling laughter of the two intertwined. “He’s too busy playing hero!” They laughed. “Thinks everyone deserves to be saved!” They continued to tease him, but their words were lost in their laughter.

“Perhaps the stories were a bit much. But we need Shadow to be likable. He does us no good if he can’t think for himself, at least a little. Maybe an override? To keep him in line.”

The wires were getting tighter the longer they talked. Shadow could feel the metal parts of his body bend. He had begun to struggle in earnest, the longer they went on. Reprograming, he knew what that meant. How it felt, pain he didn’t know he could feel.

“Make sure he has to follow orders! If he wants to keep being in the city, he must obey.” Their voice was a low growl, though something in it sounded pleased as they watched Shadow hang and struggle like a fly in a web.

Suddenly the wires are pulling him through the mangled bodies of Hive. His heart was racing. He thought it was going to burst. There was no stopping what came next. All he could hope for was for it to be over quickly.


End file.
